Michael Pettersson

Pettersson was raised in Canberra[1] and studied at the Australian National University. During this time he became involved in student politics, serving as the ACT Branch President of the National Union of Students[2] and President of the ANU Sport & Recreation Association.[3][4] He also served as President of ACT Young Labor.[5] After graduating, he worked as a trade unionist for the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.[6]

One of his hobbies is chess. He became the first politician to play in the 25th Australian National University Chess Open in Canberra.[7]

Pettersson contested the seat of Yerrabi in the 2016 ACT election and received 4,817 primary votes or 0.6 of a quota. In the campaign, he drew attention for his creative use of social media to campaign.[8] He was elected in third position in the five member Yerrabi electorate behind Meegan Fitzharris and Alistair Coe.

In Pettersson's inaugural speech he highlighted growing intergenerational inequality, the importance of education, and the dangers of casualisation in the workforce. [9]

As a member of the Legislative Assembly, Pettersson prepared and introduced historic legislation to legalise the possession and personal use of small amounts of cannabis in 2018.[10] This bill was passed by the ACT Legislative Assembly on the 25th of September 2019, making the ACT the first jurisdiction to legalise cannabis in Australia. [11]

As a backbencher, Pettersson has spoken out against increased restrictions on P-plate licences[12] and called for more light rail services to his electorate of Yerrabi. [13]

Pettersson was appointed the chair of the Education, Employment and Youth Affairs Committee following the 2016 election. [14]